A little belated Valentine's Day Fic
by Justiman
Summary: *Shounen-ai/Yaoi* *NaruSasu* When all are forgotten... and all seems lost... Sasuke is fully intent on helping Naruto remember on the day when lovers meet, Valentine's day. Sorry for being really late but it's good I promise.


Heh! Finally got to working on this shit-long story, yes! Took years off me just to finish this, mostly from the guilt that I really should have been studying for my nice stress-relieving exams rather than writing this up;;

shrug I really have been finding odd bits of things to do as excuses to not study, I even made a nice clay statue of a penguin!! I'm planning to give it to my mother for her birthday, the lucky woman.

But yes, in a small dark desolate corner of my mind, I knew that studying was a must… not that that helps or something.

Oh Yes Did you know that reviews are good for the health??

Naruto yawned loudly as he got to school, tucking two arms comfortably behind his head as he arrived. He was stunned to see a hoard of screaming excited girls rush around the school, giggling and smiling and running from group to group to group. Naruto made a face and tried to ignore them and he walked past to get to class, the girls seemed to be acting even more giggly and annoying today. He appreciated the fact that because they seemed to be preoccupied with whatever the hell they were doing, they didn't notice him.

Naruto happened to see though that almost every single girl had small pink notes and heart shaped cards or red boxes in their hands.

What the hell??

He walked into the school and out of the schoolyard of girls, confused at what was happening. Was there some school social event that he failed to remember?? That was likely; it wasn't often that he went to school anyways. A school full of bitches and assholes who wouldn't even spare him a glance, he hated those cold hateful stares that followed everywhere he went.

Naruto looked around the hallway, only to find many guys scattered everywhere around their lockers. Many had hopeful smiles on their face and they chattered quite excitedly to each other in hushed voices. Naruto scratched his head, pausing a bit at the strange behaviour of the students around him. There was definitely something he was missing on.

As he arrived at his locker and swung his locker open, his eyes scanned quickly over the pictures of girls in sexy poses before he heaved his bag in and slammed it shut again. Naruto tapped the brown-haired boy's shoulder, his lockers was only a few lockers away. The boy was talking quickly with his group of friends and looked back in irritation at Naruto.

" What?" He barked rudely, staring at Naruto in distaste.

" What the hell is going on today?? Why is everyone running around like idiots??" Naruto asked without an ounce of politeness in his voice.

The boy seemed to grin lightly at the subject and turned around to face Naruto.

" It's Valentine's day retard. Which means this is the day when hot chicks give guys they like stuff like cards or chocolate to tell them that they like them." He answered, Naruto noticed the excitement in his voice and frowned.

" Do guys give girls stuff too??"

" Of course, it's basically the day when we give gifts to the person we like." The boy smiled as he said this, obviously forgetting that he was speaking to a social outcast. Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets.

" So basically, you get chocolates and crap from a person to know that they like you."

The boy nodded before he sneered at Naruto, a mean glint in his eye.

" Don't get your hopes up loser, like any girl's gonna like you." He laughed haughtily at him and waved his hand at him as though he was waving a servant away. Naruto felt himself boil with rage and forcefully grabbed the boy's shoulders to shove him against the locker. The boy's friends crowded around him like a swarm of angry hornets.

" Hey! Get away from him!!"

" Go away you loser!"

Naruto ignored those comments and glowered fiercely at the brown-haired boy, who at this point was cowering in fear under the icy anger-filled eyes.

" Shut the fuck up! Any girl who likes dirt like you is a girl with serious brain damage." Naruto spat at him before he let him go and stomped to his first class.

He hated this school so damn much, he had moved to the small town only a few months ago because his guardian Iruka needed to do something there. Ever since he had arrived, people were less than friendly, snide and cruel and seeming to hate him even though they didn't know him. It wasn't like he tried to make friends anyways, when he finally gets enough money from his teaching job at the small fighting academy, he would buy the first train ticket out of the damn town and go back to his old home.

Naruto began kicking at the wall in a sudden fury and small pieces of concrete began to chip off as he kicked viciously. He knew that people where crowding around him, their spiteful murmurs an annoying hum in his ears. Fuck that!! Let them stare! Naruto made a horrible face and turned around, glaring hatefully at the mess of faces around him, daring any of them to say something.

" Go AWAY!! What are you looking at!!" Naruto yelled at them. " Mind your own business." Naruto quickly picked up his books and bag, which he had put down in his anger and continued to glare at the circle of students. The people left in an instant, going back to what they were doing.

Naruto sighed in frustration as he looked at his feet and leaned against the wall, breathing harshly. God!! He wished he were back in his old school, where people weren't so damn annoying.

He suddenly saw a pair of feet that had swiftly stood in front of him. Naruto looked up, mortified to see Uchiha Sasuke there, Naruto quickly shook his head and smirked at him instead, hiding his surprise.

Sasuke was a year older than him, easily the most popular boy in school. Girls followed him like lovesick puppies everywhere he went, they loved the cool emotionless dark haired boy, who was seemingly uncaring of anything. He walked with confidence and with a cool grace that made everyone around him feel awe towards him. Not only that, he had handsome sharp features, with dark hair that spilled around his face and spiked up at the back and intense black eyes that were both aware and unconcerned with everything around him at the same time.

Yes, everyone loved him. But Naruto hated him more than anyone else in the school. Because Sasuke had everything that Naruto ever wanted, but he didn't even care.

Naruto's eyes travelled from the handsome face to a small bag stuffed with valentines at Sasuke's feet. Heh, like Sasuke was going to have any problems getting a truckload of valentines. Naruto wished for no more than for Sasuke to be squashed by his stupid cards, that'll serve him right.

Sasuke's eyes bore down on him, making Naruto want to flinch. But he didn't, instead he rose himself to full height and stared defiantly back. Naruto stood there, waiting for Sasuke to say something. But it seems that his upperclassman was a little to "cool" for that.

" What do you want! If you've got nothing to say, then move aside so I can get to class." Naruto said venomously.

Sasuke's brows raised in something that could have been annoyance and amusement at once. But his face was as stony and cool as ever as he gracefully moved aside to let Naruto pass. Naruto left in a huff, making sure not to make eye contact with the boy as he walked away. What was with that guy anyways! He's so weird!

Naruto stopped in his tracks, still feeling as though Sasuke was watching him. He turned around, half expecting the boy to still be there, but Sasuke was gone already, and there was a small bag of valentines that was tossed into the garbage bin.

Naruto finally got to his classroom, not even a minute late. He sighed in relief when the bell rang a second after he got to his seat. He couldn't afford to have that bitch of a teacher send him to the headmaster again or Iruka would have his head.

Slamming his books onto his table loudly, he earned a few glares, not that he cared anyways. Naruto looked at the people around him, all of them chatting eagerly about how they got a card for who and who they hoped to get one from. Naruto rested his arms behind his back in disgust, when was that teacher going to arrive?

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a pretty pink-haired girl leaped into the room breathlessly. There was a moment of silence in the room before the class burst into applause. Sakura's face bloomed into a bright smile, her face red but proud of the attention. She quickly made her way to a large group of girls and proceeded to ask them whether the teacher was back yet.

Naruto watched her for a while, her beautiful hair that floated around her face whenever she swung that amazing head. And her face, not so much as a face you would call gorgeous but pleasant in her own way nonetheless. Naruto was in love with her, in love with her face, in love with her personality, in love with her whole being.

She may be a little stuck-up sometimes, but Naruto remembered the first day he had arrived, he had been late and had gotten lost in the maze of hallways of the school. Suddenly, he heard soft whimpering and sobs and found Sakura crouching on the ground beside the water fountain. The minute she saw him, she immediately wiped her wet eyes with her sleeve and smiled at him. Then she helped him get to his class, telling him cheerily that it was a hell of a job trying to find your way around the school. Naruto never asked her why she was crying, but she told him anyways. The cat she had owned for 8 years had died of old age, Sakura smiled sadly at this and told Naruto quickly not to feel sorry for her.

Naruto didn't say anything, but he knew from then on that he had fallen for this clumsy girl.

Naruto continued to stare at her for a while, memorizing her fluid movements and actions and imprinting them in his memory. Sakura caught his eye for a second and smiled brightly, suddenly, Naruto felt a million times better despite his horrible morning.

" I'm going to give Uchiha-sempai the card this afternoon!! I've been working on the poem for several weeks, I really hope he likes it!" Sakura said shyly when her friends asked her whether she had gotten anything for anyone. There were dozens of squeals assuring her that he would definitely like her valentine! Of course!

Naruto scowled at this. That was another reason he hated Sasuke more than anyone! Sasuke had the heart of the one Naruto loved most and he didn't even know. Naruto tightened his fist, bringing his arms down to the desk.

Gaara sat behind him, a soft-spoken boy who rarely did anything to receive much attention. But Naruto found Gaara to be a lot like himself, despite the fact that his loud self and Gaara's quiet personality seemed to be as different as ever. He turned over to flash a small grin at Gaara, which the boy returned shyly.

" I don't think I'll be getting any valentines today, so won't you be my valentine?" Naruto greeted, fluttering his eyeslashes like a love-struck girl. Gaara chuckled at him and made a crude imitation of a night in shining armour.

" Of course! And I'll perch you up on my horse so I can bring you to my castle and make you my queen." Gaara said, lowering his voice to a deep rumbling one.

" Nah! I think you'd make the better bride." Naruto laughed and turned back to face the front of the classroom, his eye catching sight of Sakura once again. He jumped in surprise when someone tapped him on the shoulder, Gaara grinned at him.

" You like Haruno-san?" Gaara whispered in an accusing tone. Naruto widened his eyes.

" How did you know?"

" Please, you've been staring at her with those eyes ever since you arrived." Gaara laughed softly, rolling his eyes. Naruto frowned.

" What's it to you?"

" You better give up on her, she's pretty and popular and she's got half the boys in our year after her. Also, she totally into Uchiha." Gaara told him seriously. Naruto stared at him.

" So? I'm a million times better than that asshole!"

Gaara only sat back, an amused glint in his eye. Naruto leaned towards him.

" Who else likes her? I always thought I was the only one!"

Gaara looked around thoughtfully and his eyes stopped at a dark haired boy who was talking with a whole bunch of other students.

" Rock Lee for one, he's definitely got a thing for her." Naruto followed his eyes and found himself giggling uncontrollably, Gaara laughed along with him.

" Mr. Thick Brows?? You serious?"

Gaara nodded.

" He's got this huge basket full of chocolates and stuff for her. Really expensive." Gaara whispered. He glanced at Naruto. " Did you get anything for her?"

Naruto snorted. " I didn't even know about Valentines day until like this morning. My old school didn't go for this kind of lame stuff."

Gaara agreed with him quietly. " I can't really see why anyone would go through the trouble of buying gifts and everything when they could just tell the person straight out." Naruto stared at him.

" You can't just tell someone you love them, it's really hard! You have to face that fear of knowing that the person you love might turn you down."

Gaara sighed, he sounded tired.

" I guess I wouldn't know… I've never been in love, probably because I never understood it." Gaara said sadly. Naruto patted his back sympathetically.

" Well…Love is… it's when you can't stop staring at the person because you just can't tear your eyes away from them. It's when your heart gives this weird lurch whenever they smile at you, and it's when you feel like you won't be able to stand it if you couldn't be with the person." Naruto explained quietly, his gaze resting on Sakura. Gaara stared intently at Naruto's face as he said this. Gaara's eyes seemed torn between sadness and longing.

" I guess… I understand. Well, not all of it, but some of it." Gaara admitted. Naruto immediately flashed a bright smile.

" That's alright, I don't think I understand love that well either. I don't think anyone does, love just comes naturally." Naruto's eyes darkened. " I mean, I used to love my old school so much, no one ridiculed you there and judged you by your outward appearance. I really hate it here."

Gaara nudged him. " Do you hate me?" He teased.

Naruto managed a small smile. " Of course not."

Class was a boring affair, for Naruto anyways. The only high point was that the teacher didn't bother to teach the anything, or rather that she couldn't teach them anything. Everyone was too excited about the valentine trade at last period to learn anyways. So Naruto talked to Gaara the whole time, ignoring the topic of Valentine's Day all together despite the fact that that was all everyone talked about around them.

It seemed as though lunch would never come, and when that lunch bell did ring. A stampede of students rushed towards the cafeteria, merciless and cruel as them stomped over the unlucky few that had tripped onto the ground.

Naruto sat at his usual table at the corner where he could watch everything happen instead everything happening around him. Gaara sat beside him as well, along with Kankuro, Gaara's brother who was a year older and had a strange fascination with puppets. Temari took the seat in front of Gaara, she was the same age as Gaara and was rather overprotective of her brother. Neji Hyuga sat at their table as well, but situated himself a few seats away from them by himself. He wasn't exactly an outcast or something, but he preferred to be alone.

Naruto began to devour his cup ramen, licking his lips as he slurped up the last few drop of the soup. Around him, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were talking about something like getting something for dinner, but Naruto ignored them. Instead, he studied the large cafeteria, the school had done quite a pathetic job of decorated it for Valentine's day. A few flimsy paper red and pink streamers were hung around the ceiling, threatening to rip with only the smallest of breezes.

Everyone in the school were too busy to notice the decorations though, many people, Naruto saw, were busy scribbling names onto last minute valentines or constantly watching their chocolate so that it won't melt or get squashed.

As he looked around, he failed to notice the person looming over him before he looked up and gasped startled. Sasuke stood there, his features just as dark and unfathomable as ever before, but he was staring at Naruto! NARUTO!! Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch their king.

Sasuke was rarely found eating in the cafeteria, he usually ate by himself in who knows where; it wasn't often when he would be found in the school at lunch. But he was there now and for the first time seemed to find interest in something that didn't concern himself, a loser who was a year younger than him!

Even though Naruto was just as shocked as everyone was, he hid it perfectly with a frown and looked up at Sasuke, his eyes never wavering for a second from Sasuke's dark eyes. Gaara and Kankuro glared at Sasuke, a little uneasy that he would actually be at the table. But Temari nearly swooned at the sight of him.

" What?" Naruto said, finally breaking the silence.

Sasuke lifted his arm up towards Naruto, a book in his hand.

" You forgot this."

Naruto stared at the book, then at Sasuke and at the book again.

" Uh… Thanks…" Naruto answered unsurely, he quickly grabbed the book and placed it carefully on the table. Sasuke continued to stand there for a few seconds before his arm shot out again to grab at Naruto's arm. As his hand tightened with so much force that it became painful for Naruto. Naruto yelped and tried to pull his arm back.

" What's wrong with you! Let go of me!" Naruto cried angrily, he finally pulled his arm back, knocking over the milk carton behind him when he did.

" Gah! Look what you did." Naruto said angrily, glancing at the milk that poured out of the carton and dripped onto the ground. Sasuke raised a brow at him, and Naruto decided then that he hated Sasuke more than anything.

" You pulled your arm back yourself." He said coolly before he walked out of the room, more than a hundred pairs of eyes trailing behind him. Naruto rubbed his sore arm, a little puzzled. Suddenly, the buzzing in the room erupted to a full-blown attack of voices.

" I wonder why he did that…"

" … that Uzumaki kid is so weird…"

" Sasuke is so cool…"

" Did you see how that boy blamed that milk incident on Sasuke…?"

" How rude of that Naruto guy…"

Naruto pretended he didn't hear all the voices around him, he knew that everyone would side with Sasuke anyways. He turned to Gaara and lifted his hand to his ear to make a slight circular motion with his finger.

" Crazy… that guy."

Gaara nodded, though his eyes looked troubled.

" I wonder why he did that?" Gaara said, voicing Naruto's thoughts exactly.

Naruto shrugged and sat back, careful not to get himself wet from the milk.

" All I know is that I'm going to stay away from that guy from now on… he might go ballistic on my again." He muttered.

" Did you get that Sakura girl something??" Temari asked, quick to change the subject. Naruto stared at her in such mad disbelief that Gaara chuckled.

" I can understand Gaara knowing! But how did you know? You're not even in any of my classes!" Naruto said in surprise. Temari giggled, her face was still a little flushed from Sasuke being there only a few seconds ago.

" Please! Gaara's my brother! I can get anything out of him at anytime!"

Naruto swung around to glare at Gaara.

" Garaa!!" He accused. Garaa smiled sheepishly.

" It wasn't his fault, Temari can just about blackmail anything out of us." Kankuro laughed easily and he swung his arms over his head. Naruto sighed.

" I didn't get her anything…"

" Not even a small card?? A chocolate?"

" Nope. It wouldn't have helped anyways, Sakura-chan is too madly in love with Uchiha to notice me anytime." Naruto said, yawning as he did.

"Well, she shouldn't get her hopes up! I heard Sasuke didn't go for girls." Kankuro added in. Naruto stared at him dumbfounded.

" You mean he's a fag??" Naruto nearly shrieked. Gaara kicked him in the shins to keep him quiet while Temari looked just about as stunned and disgusted. Kankuro smiled slowly.

" Well no… what I meant was he isn't interested in girls. Not that he was interested in guys. But I guess…" There was a strange sparkle of Kankuro's eyes. " That would explain a lot."

Temari giggled. " And if Uchiha-sempai DID go for guys, God forbid if did, then he would probably be in love with you Uzumaki. Seeing how he stares at you all the time." Naruto rolled his eyes at her, making a face to show how gross he thought that was.

" Ugh…. I'm going to throw up! Uchiha does NOT stare at me!!" Naruto said defensively.

" He does Naruto!! He stared at you in the same way you stare at Sakura all the time!! Like he's about to eat you! You're just to stupid to notice!!" Gaara said with a laugh before Naruto tackled him to the ground.

Gaara shoved Naruto off him playfully, although there was a distant glint in his eyes when they got back to lunch.

After lunch, Naruto hurried to the gym after waving good-bye to his classmates. He glanced at his watch quickly and walked faster. He was looking forward to the gym lesson today; they were combining his gym class with the history subject of some older class.

They were teaching about ninjas, shinobis and all that boring history stuff, so the teachers decided it would be better if classes got a hands-on experience. But because older yearlings did not have physical ed., they planned to join a Year 2 and Year 3 Class together so that both could learn. Naruto didn't care, he was really excited, all that ninja stuff he saw in movies and books sounded really cool.

Naruto finally got to the gym, which was on 4th floor and quickly ran in, still breathing heavily. All the students were grouped to one side of the gym while the teachers were in the other. He walked in to take a spot beside a strange boy named Shino, who was also in his Science class and had a creepy obsession about bugs. He waved to him carelessly, Shino nodded back and they both waited for the rest of their classmates to arrive.

It was a few minutes later when the Year 3 teacher Hatake Kakashi, with whom Naruto is not that familiar rose his hand up for silence. Naruto's own gym teacher Kiraiya, a loud man whom Naruto found reading perverted magazines after class once stepped up as well. Every single sound was silenced.

" Today, whether it be me or Kiraiya-sensei who told you before, we will be having a combined class of Years 2 and Years 3 so that it would make it easier for the Years 3 to learn about their subject and for the Years 2 to have a chance to see what you will be learning about this year. This class will be a chance for you to learn about ninjas, or as some may call shinobi's. A shinobi is a person who has been trained in the art of ninjutsu, which is a master of stealth and…"

The teacher named Kakashi spoke in a boring drawling voice and Naruto found his head nodding in sleep. Suddenly, Kiraiya spoke with his loud deep voice and Naruto awoke.

" Now this is a Kunai…" Kiraiya lifted an object that looked like a small dagger, except it had a ring at the end. " Before, a shinobi may whip this at an enemy skilfully as an attack. Easy to pierce eyes out or even cause a death, I will pass this around if you are careful." Kiraiya explained. There were several "ooo's" and "aaaah's" as it was passed around in safe hands.

Naruto carefully placed the kunai in his hand after Shino passed it to him. Gently hooking his finger through the small hoop, he was surprise at how comfortably familiar it felt in hand. Someone poked him in the back.

" Yo… don't hog it." An impatient 3rd year whispered to him.

Naruto reluctantly gave it to the boy with shaking hands, he had really liked the feel of that weird dagger thingy. He looked up to see Kiraiya take out another item.

" These are shuriken, you also throw these at enemies though it does not cause that much damage. But a few of them thrown a high speed can prove deadly as well, though these are usually used more as a distraction." Naruto squinted, that star-shaped flat piece of metal seemed familiar as well. Sadly, Kiraiya did not offer to pass the shuriken around. For the next ten minutes, he took out things like Senbon, which were needles, Makibishi that were metal spikes and other objects like shukos and Metsubushi.

Everyone watched on with great interest, not really expecting to have the genuine items put out in front of them. By the time the teachers were finished, all the students were quite disappointed. Kakashi smiled, though that weird cloth he tied around his face all the time didn't show it.

" Now is the fun part." Naruto noticed Kakashi-sensei said this with a hint of sarcasm. "You will be assigned partners so that you can practice techniques, or a jutsu. It won't be real or anything because as I have explained earlier about Chakra and Seals…"

Damn! I wasn't listening! Naruto groaned, knowing that it was probably pretty important.

"… They aren't used anymore because we today do not have the ability to call up such things. So instead, I want all of you to pretend to use a technique. It could be one you made up yourself or one that I told you about, saying the write words. I want you to act our with your partner what happens when you use that jutsu." At this, many of the students groaned.

" We wanted to do real shinobi stuff sensei!"

" This isn't drama class!!"

" This sounds like something we would do in kinder-garden or something!"

Kiraiya took a step forward, glaring fiercely at all the students.

" You could call this an easy assignment, but it will be worth a large chunk of your marks." Kiraiya paused effectively. "So I would advise you to take this seriously."

There were some more groans but the students complied. Kakashi eyed them lazily.

" I will assign you partners."

Suddenly, everyone shuffled closer to the one they wanted to be with. Kakashi laughed wickedly.

" Heh. You wish, I'll be putting 3rd years and 2nd years together so that you can better learn about the subject and each other." People sighed and eyed possible partners. Naruto suddenly noticed that most… no, ALL of the girls had scooted over to one part of the room.

Kakashi began to stroll around the room, his hands in his pockets as he stared at each student.

" Akimichi Choji and… Yomanaka Ino." There was a high-pitched cry of frustration as a blond-haired girl pushed out of the group of girls and stared at Choji in distaste.

"Nara Shikamaru and Hyuga Neji."

" Kin Tsuchi and Dosu Kinuta."

" Aburame Shino… and…"

Kakashi was now standing in front of Naruto and Shino.

"…Hyuga Hinata."

Naruto knew his turn was next and sat back patiently for his name to be paired up with some unlucky fellow. Kakashi stared at him for a while, seemingly stuck, but there was a strange flash of understanding and recognition in his eye before his eye crinkled up in a smile that looked like it was for Naruto alone.

" Uzumaki Naruto and…" There was a brief intake of breath. " Uchiha Sasuke."

There was a gasp among the students, mostly wails from the group of girls, some of them had even burst into tears. One girl even went forward with tears in her eyes.

" How could you!! How could you pair up Uchiha-sama with that- that…" She glared angrily at Naruto. Naruto felt anger coursing through his veins and was about to get up and yell at her when Kakashi did the job.

" It is what I want. I've decided to pair off Uzumaki and Uchiha… have you got a reasonable reason to disagree with that??" Kakashi said rather coldly.

The girl backed off, biting her lip anxiously as she looked back to obviously where Sasuke was.

" Feh! It's not like I want to work with that weirdo anyways." Naruto retorted loudly. That emitted about a few dozen gasps and bitter responses.

Kakashi shook his head, "I will not change my decision."

Naruto felt anger boiling through him. He wanted nothing more than to demand that he NOT work with Sasuke. But working with him may teach that girl a lesson. Naruto sighed, the things he had to sacrifice for dignity.

It took about another two minutes for Kakashi to pair everyone else together and there were no complaints. He told everyone to get together with their partners and talk about what they were going to do for their assignment.

Naruto paused, he didn't even know that Sasuke was in his class. But it was easy to suspect that wherever Sasuke was, there was bound to be a large crowd of girls as well. Making his way through the people, a boy who was in a rush to get to his partner rudely pushed Naruto aside. Naruto lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground, before a hand firmly gripped his arm and steadied him back to his feet. Naruto looked up to show his gratitude before he saw that it was Sasuke standing there, staring at him with something Naruto didn't want to acknowledge as amusement.

Naruto pulled his arm away quickly, noticing that his face flushed quickly. Naruto still remembered about what had happened at lunch and gazed back at Sasuke wearily. That damn staring was making him feel uneasy.

" Know what to do? I didn't hear what Kakashi was saying." Naruto said to the older boy. Sasuke stared blankly at him for a second before his face cracked a small smile.

" I should have known. More like you didn't listen, Dead-Last." Naruto squinted up at him, what was he talking about?? He's speaking as though they've known each other for a very long time. Naruto mentally scoffed at that, they haven't even spoken to each other until today.

" Dead-Last??" Naruto asked confusedly. That sounded familiar, though he really didn't know why. Sasuke seemed to realize something and frowned a little.

" Nothing." Sasuke replied shortly, he had already begun to walk towards one of the benches and didn't notice all the stares of girls that followed him.

Naruto shrugged before he suddenly realized that Sasuke had insulted him and waved his fist at him.

" Hey!! I'm not dead-last!!" He yelled loudly before he quickly ran to catch up with Sasuke. Naruto folded his arms onto his chest, finding Sasuke quite difficult to work with.

" You didn't answer me, I asked you what we should do!!" He said loudly.

Sasuke stopped all of a sudden, turning back to look at Naruto.

" What do 'you' want to you?"

Naruto shrugged before he grinned devishly and raised his finger up.

" I know!! We can do Oiroke no Jutsu!! Hehe… Here's what it could be, I change into a really pretty sexy nude girl so that others would be too dumbfounded and aroused to do anything!! That's great!!" Naruto laughed at his own idea. Sasuke stared at him strangely, a gleam of hope in his eyes.

" That's…" Sasuke paused and Naruto grinned at him. "… not appropriate at all." He began to walked swiftly towards the bench again and sat down.

Naruto sweat-dropped and followed him onto the bench, falling onto the wood heavily.

" What do you want to do then… genius." Naruto shot.

Sasuke remained silent and bent over to rest his elbows on his knees thoughtfully.

" We could always… do… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…" Sasuke said slowly.

Naruto smiled. "That name does have a nice ring to it… what does it do?"

Sasuke turned to watch him.

" You don't know?"

" Well duh… it's your idea." Naruto said with a shrug. Sasuke shook his head, growling lowly in his throat.

" Naruto… you are impossible." He muttered almost unaudibly. Naruto stared at him sadly, a sudden swelling in his chest made it hard for him to breath.

" Wha-?"

"Nothing. Like you'd understand."

Naruto suddenly got angry, rage building up inside of him and he didn't even know why he was acting so civilized to this guy anyways. He HATED HIM!! Naruto stood up, tighting his fists harshly, he didn't even know why he felt so frustrated. It's just that… Sasuke and his stupid I-think-I'm-better-than-everyone tendencies pissed him of so damn much!

And when the hell did he let Sasuke use his name anyways?

"Why do you keep on doing that! I knew I wouldn't be able to work with you!" Naruto said. There was a loud ringing in his ears that wouldn't go away. Naruto stomped his foot on the ground, feeling foolishly like a child and now noticing that the entire gym has gone quiet.

" Don't call me Naruto either, it's Uzumaki-kun or whatever the hell you want to call me. I hardly even know you!!" Naruto said bitterly before he stomped out of the gym, still fuming.

But… he didn't miss the almost hurt that had flashed across Sasuke's eyes as he spat out his last words.

Naruto shook his head to get rid of the thought. It's not like he knew that guy anyways!!! Why does everyone like Sasuke!! He's nothing special!!!!

Soon enough, it was already fourth period… which meant it was the time where the school goes wild with students running rampant around the halls stuffing cards into lockers and desks and even to the person they like themselves.

Naruto nearly got crushed by the crowd of girls who ran past him, all clutching a Valentine in their hands. Naruto noticed that they were all running in the direction of where Sasuke's locker was. Expected.

Deciding to follow them to see for himself just how popular Sasuke really was, Naruto steadily walked to boy's locker, careful not to be trampled over by several other groups of girls who had rushed towards Sasuke's locker as well.

When he got there, Naruto's eyes went wide with surprise, he never realize that Uchiha Sasuke was that popular. Surrounding the locker was like a swelling balloon of girls, there must have been over a hundred just standing there. But what was most amazing was the massive pile of letter, cards, boxes, baskets and bags of such beside the locker. It was a shocking mass of pink and red that nearly reached the ceiling, tilting slightly as though it was about to topple over and squash whoever was unlucky enough o be standing there. Naruto's wish for Sasuke to be squashed by his Valentines wasn't exactly as unrealistic as it sounded.

It wasn't as though Sasuke was there himself though, because all the girls were pushing and shoving yet they looked around curiously, waiting for him to come back so they could see the look on his face when he saw their Valentine. Naruto looked around and was almost ashamed for the girl when he saw Sakura in the midst of all those girls as well, her face beaming with hope.

Naruto blanched, it was nauseating. Almost shaking with fury, he took harsh long strides back to his locker. It was NOT FAIR!! Sasuke wasn't that special, other than the fact that he was unbelievably handsome, and got perfect grades, and excelled in all sports… and… and…

Naruto growled in anger as he opened his locker furiously, slamming it open with a loud clap as it crashed against the locker beside him. He quickly got all his things out and slammed it shut again, hoping that everyone would realize he was in a bad mood and come to make fun of him. It would give him a nice excuse to bash their faces in.

Naruto was just about to go into the lobby when he heard a sudden rumbling, the ground had begun shaking, he noticed. Suddenly, the rumbling increased even more in volume and turned up to a full roar when Naruto turned back to see a HUMUNGOUS crowd of people racing towards him. And… Naruto squinted his eyes… and that was…

" Holy SHIT!!" Naruto yelled as he staggered back, frozen on the spot. That was SASUKE running from all those people, running at a speed that must have been superhuman. Sasuke was so far back and then so close so quickly that Naruto was almost dizzy. Sasuke was still a few feet a way from him when he called to him.

" Run!" Sasuke yelled at him, still running so damn fast.

Naruto remained rooted to the spot before he suddenly realized he was going to be trampled upon by hundreds of people if he didn't run away quick. But he couldn't move, it was as though he was frozen stiff.

Sasuke slowed only the slightest when he got beside him and grabbed for Naruto's hand. For that second that their hands came into contact, Naruto's heart lurched when he found himself pulled back by Sasuke. They ran together, Naruto's mind still in a state of confusion as he let himself be pulled, his legs still moving like they never had before. He shook his head and glared at Sasuke. The other boy was in front of him and seriously intent on finding away to get away from the crowd.

Suddenly, Sasuke skidded to a stop and swiftly opened a door. He then pulled Naruto in with him into the dark and shut the door quietly.

There was a rumbling sound that quickly passed the door in front of them, the small crack under the door the only source of light in the closet. Naruto was only faintly aware of all this though, the two arms that were wrapped around his waist was the only thingon his mind then. And of course Sasuke's head on his shoulder, and the damp hot breathes on his neck as they waited for the crowd to pass by.

Naruto shivered and tried to stop the urge to jab his elbow into Sasuke's stomach and run away.

Soon, the rumbling had died away and there was only silence, save the haggard harsh breathes in the small closet. Soon, Naruto found himself relaxing, resting his own head against Sasuke's and waited a few more minutes to make sure it was safe. It felt nice, the older boy's wide chest that moved warmly against his back every time he took a breath.

Wait… he was in a closet… with UCHIHA SASUKE!!!

Naruto jumped away, quickly pushing Sasuke's arms off him as turned to face the other boy. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice, his face tired and sweaty and his breathing still uneven, he managed a small chuckle. Sasuke lifted his head, pushing his hair out of his face as he did.

" You know, I never knew I would fear being trampled upon by screaming fan girls on Valentines day."

" Funny, I thought you would have been squashed by your mountain of cards instead." Naruto muttered bitterly, his hans on his waist. Both of them squirmed uncomfortably for a few seconds, realizing of their situation before Naruto took a step towards the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

" I think they're gone now." He explained quickly and twisted the doorknob. It didn't move. Naruto gaped incredulously at the bronze doorknob before he tried to twist it again, but it still didn't budge. Holy shit… He. Was. STUCK!!!

" It's stuck!! I'm stuck!! WE"RE stuck!!" Naruto said in panic, his voice a couple pitches higher than usual. Sasuke raised his brows for a moment before he walked forward as well and gently nudged Naruto aside. He twisted the knob and stood still when it didn't work. Naruto glared at him.

" If I couldn't open the stupid door, what makes you think you could!"

" It was worth a try."

Naruto ignored him and began hitting the door with his fists.

" GAH!! We're stuck!! STUCK!"

" I know."

" STUCK!!!"

" I know!"

" WE'RE GOING TO BE STUCK HERE FORVER!! STUCK!!!"

"…"

Naruto continued to bang against the door senselessly when Sasuke grabbed both his arms and pushed them down.

" You'll only hurt yourself." Sasuke muttered as he stepped back to sit on a small pile of cloth.

" What ARE you doing!!" Naruto said in disbelief.

" Trying to get myself comfortable idiot. We're going to have to wait here a while."

" Shouldn't we try to get someone to get us out of here?????"

Sasuke lifted his arm to his face to stare at his watch intently, trying to see the hands in the dark.

" It's too late… but not late enough for the janitors to come and take one final inspection of the school before they lock it up. It should take them about 3 hours to pass by this. You knock yourself unconscious against the door if you want but I wouldn't advise it."

Naruto reluctantly stepped away from the door and sat down on the cold concrete.

" Why do you care…" He muttered.

There was no reply.

5 hours later

" WHY THE HELL AREN"T THEY HERE YET!!! I want OUT!!!" Naruto yelled against the door, fully making the decision that it was all Sasuke's fault.

Sasuke grimaced at his yell and peered at his watch for the thousandth time.

" I really don't know…"

Naruto couldn't resist a sneer.

" Look's like Perfect-san made his first miscalculation."

" You're not making the situation any better with your whining." Sasuke replied coolly, unaffected by the remark. Naruto scowled darkly at him.

" I am /not/ annoying!!"

" No, you're not. You're more like an annoying idiot pain in the ass."

Naruto stood up so that he could look more menacing to the sitting boy, not that it made a difference anyways.

" So!! What if I'm annoying!! Atleast I'm not some stuck-up asshole who has everyone bowing at the sight of me and parents who probably spoil me too much for my own good!!"

Sasuke leaped up all of a sudden, his eyes glowing with fury and an intense anger. He punched at the wall beside him, the concrete falling to pieces at his hand and leaving a huge indent when he pulled his arm away. Naruto felt a kind of terror he never did before.

" You have no right to speak of my parents!!" Sasuke roared.

He suddenly stiffened and seemed to try to get control of his anger. When he spoke again, his voice was back to its usual softness. " My parents are dead." He said bitterly.

Naruto didn't exactly know what to do, but seeing Sasuke's reaction, his parents were obviously very important to him. But was he supposed to be sorry??

" So?? Hey wow!! That makes you special doesn't it?? Well here's a little something!! My parents are dead too!! I've haven't even seen them before in my life and you don't see me prancing around!!" Naruto said angrily.

Sasuke stared at him in such disappointment and sadness that Naruto wanted to take back his words. But Sasuke went back to his emotionless self again and Naruto wondered if he had just imagined it.

" You are fortunate compared to me… to have never seen your parents…" Sasuke said quietly, his eyes downcast. " Do you know what it's like to go out to play for a while and come back home to find your parent's corpses?? Murdered… in front of you…" Sasuke said painfully.

Naruto couldn't speak, he saw the obvious pain and terror in Sasuke's eyes, the kind that didn't go away for a long time. For a minute, he was silent. Before he caught sight of Sasuke's bloodied hand and swiftly grabbed it by the wrist.

" Hey! You're hurt!" Naruto exclaimed, half trying to change the topic, but mostly in concern. Only hesitating a little, he tugged onto Sasuke's hand to sit him down and kneeled down as well. Naruto examined Sasuke's injured hand carefully, his face nearly touching the hand itself. He was glad that there were any serious wounds. Not that he cared anyways, of course not.

Sasuke didn't say a word as Naruto tore a strip of the hem of his shirt to wrap it quickly around the hand, though he winced at bit when Naruto tied it up tightly. He tore the last bit of cloth with his teeth.

Naruto didn't dare look at the other boy's face when he sat back.

" I know you wouldn't have done it yourself anyways." He muttered.

" I thought you said that I was some asshole who only cared about myself." Sasuke said, though in what way Naruto did not know because he couldn't see Sasuke's face. But he was glad Sasuke wasn't angry anymore. That guy is terrifying when he gets mad!!

" I did not say that!!" Naruto defended himself.

" You meant it!" Sasuke shot back.

" I only said that you were a stuck-up bastard who's got half the world in love with him and- and…" Naruto trailed off, remembering what he said. Sasuke thankfully did not say anything.

Naruto gulped nervously as he finally looked up, he wasn't able to see Sasuke's face that clearly but he could see that it was still tense with stress.

" I really didn't mean what I said before… about your parents…" Naruto apologized. " And what I said after about how you shouldn't think your special just because your parents died… I didn't mean that too." A pause.

" It's just that… I never knew what happened to my parents… Iruka's been taking care of me even since I could remember and it makes me really frustrated to know that I'll never know what my parents are like… never…" Naruto suddenly felt himself choking with tears and blinked them back furiously. There was no way he was going to get all emotional now!! Especially not in front of Uchiha!!!

" I mean, when I first came here to this school, it was so hard. Because I felt like I was alone again, like I do at night when I can't sleep and I can't just stop thinking about why my parents left me." Naruto's voice was trembling as he continued and was grateful that Sasuke did not say a word.

" But now that I'm here, I guess it's okay. I mean… The people aren't half bad here, and I've got friends like Gaara and Temari and Shino and…" Naruto paused. He'd never actually told someone how he felt before. And why was he telling SASUKE?? He'd be lucky if the other boy was even listening, much less care.

" I know."

Naruto blinked at the boy. Wha?? Was he hearing right??

" What do you mean??"

" I understand and I know." Sasuke answered solemnly, though he didn't move when he spoke so Naruto wasn't even sure if he was the one speaking.

" How would you…?" Naruto said dully, hope dying. How the hell would some guy he only met that day know anything about him anyways?? Naruto wanted to knock his head against something, why did he have to go and say all that??

" I do Naruto."

Naruto felt the hairs on his neck raise.

" Don't call me Naruto! It's freaky!!"

" Why? It's your name dumbass."

" So!! You do not know me well enough to use my name!" Naruto yelled at him. Sasuke suddenly got silent and Naruto wondered just for a moment if he had hurt the boy's feelings. He peered curiously at the other boy, not wanting to look worried or anything.

" OK… I know I was a little harsh but-"

" How could you say I do not know you…" Sasuke said quietly, his voice barely a whisper. Naruto stopped.

" What?" Naruto demanded.

" I said, How in fucking hell could you not recognize me!" Sasuke lifted his head, his eyes blazing. He got up all of a sudden, grabbing Naruto by the shoulders and slamming him against the door pinning him there. Naruto hit the door hard, his body trembling in fear and pain. His skull had roughly come into contact with the wood and he found himself dizzy like the whole world was spinning around him.

Sasuke grabbed his chin forcefully and pulled Naruto's head up so that they were eye-to-eye. Naruto choked back something that wouldn't register into his head as a sob… why?

Sasuke's eyes were so full of compassion and intense emotion that Naruto almost felt himself drown of those pools of black. His head nodded a bit in near-unconsciousness, Sasuke tenderly rubbed his face in one of his hands, in other arm still against the wall beside Naruto's skull. Naruto couldn't tear his eyes away from Sasuke's, he wanted to more than anything but he couldn't.

Sasuke began to lightly skim his palm over Naruto's flushed cheek, his hand not really coming into contact with the surface of Naruto's skin, but close enough to let him feel the heat radiating from it. Naruto shivered at the touch, he wanted to pull away from it so damn much but he couldn't move anymore.

Sasuke bent over slightly, so that their faces were mere inches apart and their noses nearly touched. His eyes bore into Naruto's, burning with a fire that couldn't be distinguished. His hand smoothly brushed several strands of blond hair out of Naruto's face and he began to rake his fingers through the messy locks of yellow. Naruto tried to pull his head away but Sasuke took his other hand to hold his chin again so he couldn't move.

There was a short silence.

" Do you recognize my touch?" Sasuke whispered, his warm breath fanned across Naruto's face.

Naruto began to shudder as Sasuke continued to caress his head lightly but shook his head mutely, Sasuke's fingers had loosened for him to do so.

Sasuke took his hand of the chin and splayed both his hands onto Naruto's chest. Then slowly and gently, he began to drag them down to Naruto's stomach, holding his breath as he did so but never turning his eyes away. Naruto's breath hitched and his cheeks reddened even more when he arched to the touch, unable to stop.

" Do you recognize my passion?" He whispered this time, his eyes still locked on Naruto's wide orbs of vast oceans. Naruto whimpered but shook his head violently again, his hair flapping around his head. It hurt. There was something burning in his chest that wanted to get out, yet something equally strong was forcing it down.

Sasuke took a deep breath and took his hands down. He delicately picked up both of Naruto's shaking hands to pull them up. Then he unhurriedly placed both palms onto his own chest, rising and falling with every short breath he took. He still held Naruto's hands in place and smiled wearily in his eyes. Calmly, he dropped his hands and drew a relieved breath when Naruto did not pull his hands away.

But Naruto backed away from Sasuke's gaze to stare down at his own hands that were against the Sasuke's chest, the black shirt rumpling every time he moved his hand the slightest. Sasuke continued to watch him in yearning. Naruto seemed confused because he chewed on his lower lip nervously, biting it a raw red. But Naruto tentively pressed his hand again Sasuke's left side of his chest and felt a strange compulsion to pull his hand away when he felt a slow hard heartbeat against the firm muscle. He couldn't speak and couldn't really do anything for himself at the moment, because there was a churning in his stomach that made him rather sick.

Sasuke bent over so that his mouth directly hovered on top of Naruto's ear.

" Do you recognize my heart?" He said lowly, and leaned back again to look at Naruto's response. Naruto didn't move, his entire body still and only feeling that lovely heartbeat he knew for some reason only beat for him. But… But he couldn't say yes… all he could was manage that stupid shake of a head and he felt his heart break the slightest when Sasuke exhaled in exhaustion.

But Sasuke wouldn't give up yet. He cupped Naruto's face and softly rubbed his cheeks with his thumb pad. Naruto stared back with his bright blue eyes unblinkingly as he looked up to Sasuke's face. His features were unreadable because of lack of light.

" Why? Why are you doing this?" Naruto murmured.

Sasuke ignored what he said and only watched him, eyes dark and bottomless, but glazed with longing and grief. He continued to rub Naruto's cheeks gently, drinking in the sheer closeness of the boy and hoping to whatever god there was that he would /remember…/

Sasuke inhaled slowly and suddenly leaned over to gently press his lips on to Naruto's forehead.

Naruto stood still.

Sasuke continued to hold Naruto's face firmly as though he never wanted to let him go and began a trail of small fluttery kisses down the side of Naruto's right side of his face. Naruto took short apprehensive breaths, sighing softly when Sasuke continued to caress his face.

Sasuke slowly stopped at his chin, his lips still touching Naruto's face. Naruto looked down and gasped at the immense love and compassion that was in Sasuke's eyes, slowly reaching into his own heart and pulling out that something he had forgotten a long time ago…

" Do you…" Sasuke hesitated as he spoke against Naruto's chin. "… Do you recognize my love?" With those words, Sasuke raised himself so that he stared straight into Naruto's eyes, and gave a glowing smile when he saw the love and recognition that had been reflected in Naruto's own eyes.

Naruto nodded a wordless reply, his eyes brimming with tears and bent over to firmly plant a kiss on Sasuke's mouth, to the other boy's surprise. Naruto laughed breathlessly against the other boy's lips.

" I remember."

(Authors note: Yes… if you do not know what is happening right now or what has been happening And I understand if you did because I made everything pretty confusing. But you should pretty much realize what's going on after the last few paragraphs and I'll also give a brief explanation at the end…:P)

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't speak much because the janitors had finally arrived, apologizing to a madly blushing and furiously angry Naruto that they had wanted to finish their supper before cleaning up the school.

" GAH!! I had to be in there for like 20 hours!!!" Naruto said loudly. The two janitors looked at each other before saying sorry again.

" We were only in there for about 5 hours." Sasuke said coolly, his brows raised in amusement. Naruto shot a dirty look at him and then glared at the janitors.

" See what I had to put up with the whole time!!" Naruto growled.

The janitors quickly waved another apology and hastily got their brooms to leave, eager to get away from the boy. As they ran off down the dark hallway to places that needed cleaning.

Naruto turned around to give Sasuke a nasty look, to which Sasuke returned with a smirk.

" Damn you Sasuke, making me remember again!! Couldn't you have just left me alone to some peace than to badger me again in my other lives!" Naruto said, waving his hands in annoyance. Sasuke took a few steps towards Naruto and swiftly wrapped his arms around his waist.

Sasuke chuckled at the faint pink that had tinted Naruto's cheeks as he tried to pull away without much effort. Naruto sighed in defeat when Sasuke didn't move an inch and wound his own arms around the other boy's neck.

" You're older than me." Naruto said with a pout.

" Hn."

" Girls are still crazy about you"

A laugh.

" How come you remembered but I didn't?"

Sasuke raised Naruto's chin and gazed carefully into his eyes.

" I would always follow you and remember you, because you own my touch, my passion, my heart and my love." He murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

Naruto looked back into the eyes of the one he shared so many experiences and bonded so strongly with. He smiled.

" Does Kakashi and Iruka know??"

" No, I don't think so… Do you want to tell them?"

" No… Let's wait to Parent-Teacher Conference day." Naruto grinned devishly before he stared imploringly at Sasuke.

" Is this my Valentine's day gift?? No card?? No chocolate??"

Sasuke suddenly arched over to catch Naruto's lips into a deep breath-taking kiss, his tongue delving into the mouth of the others so that their tongues danced sensuously together. When they finished, Sasuke leaned back and ruffled Naruto's blond hair.

" Happy Valentine's day."

Naruto beamed ecstatically.

" Happy Valentine's day!!"

OWARI

HURRAY!!!! This is pretty long ne?????

The thing is, it IS rather confusing and there are parts you probably won't exactly understand… though it sure as hell is pretty straight-forward. But some things might piece together when you read my "breath" story……. But I really shouldn't be giving these damn spoilers out.

So HAPPY VALENTIES DAY U LOVELY PPL!!!!!!

Here is my gift to u, plus a dozen of those adorable little chocolate kisses!!!

Hehe

This story is TOTALLY dedicated to my beta Koganei!!!!

This is supposed to be a surprise to her!! SHHHHHHH…. That's why there are so many grammatical mistakes, I didn't give it to her to beta…….

I guess now's the time to wait patiently for her to read it!!

I LUUUUUUUUUUV U!!!!!!! BE MY VALENTINE!!!!!!!!

Hehe!!!!!!!!!! glomps her

No more to say…. Hands sooooooo tired….

I finished this whole thing in like 5 hours straight…. Hands gonna fall off….

Sooooo tired

Oh yes!! I really really wanted to expand more on how Naruto likes Sakura but I was really too lazy to….

So here's what happens with the three…. Sakura will basically act as she did in Breath and kinda encourage them even though she still likes Sasuke…. But here's a scene to put to mind, when Sasuke and Naruto let Sakura know…. Because yes… they WILL tell her, both about the past lives and their relationship and all…

She'll freak like any other normal girl would… and revert back to the sweet old Sakura we know and love.

CIAO!! XP!!!!

O yes… one more thing… yes… my story is rather incomplete and has too many loop holes BUT!! What the hell is with the relationship between Gaara and Naruto???

Well, it's just that I loved the kid too much in the manga so I wanted to put him in the story…

But I kinda ruined his image didn't I???

Total OOC

AW!!!

BYE!!!


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